Various industries use liquid chromatography systems to analyze and control bioprocess and chemical reactions. For example, pharmaceutical manufacturers often use a liquid chromatography system to monitor their process line by taking samples at various times or at different points along the process line to ensure that the batch or process flow stream is to specification. Samples taken may include, but are not limited to, complex mixtures of proteins, protein precursors, protein fragments, reaction products, and other compounds, to list but a few. Other manufacturers may use liquid chromatography systems to profile a certain biochemical reaction, taking samples from the same point in the process line over time as the reaction progresses.
The manner of acquiring samples for analysis can be manually intensive, especially where there are multiple reactors and different types of processes involved. An individual must typically draw the sample manually from a process line, carry it to the liquid chromatography system, and load it into the system for injection and analysis. Throughout this handling, care must be taken to label the sample properly and to ensure a well-documented chain of custody, or otherwise risk introducing uncertainty into the results. In addition, if the sample requires dilution before injection to the column or detector, the individual must first thoroughly wash the container within which the dilution occurs to avoid contamination with previously sampling. Moreover, manually prepared sample dilutions are often wasteful and not cost effective.
As a result, monitoring multiple bioprocess and chemical processes in a timely manner (preferably in-line or on-line) tenders in an increased level of efficiency in testing while at the same time reducing over-processing, enhancing consistency and minimizing rejects.